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| Portrait of Ada Lovelace image: commons.wikimedia.org |
Ada Lovelace was
born in London, England in 1815 to a poet father and math-loving mother. After
her father left the family when she was just four, Ada’s mother raised her on a
strict regiment of science, logic, and mathematics. Due to this she developed
an early love for machines and technology, a passion that would lead her down a
path of scientific discovery.
Relationship
with Charles Babbage:
In 1833, at
around seventeen, Lovelace was introduced to Charles Babbage, a mathematician
and inventor who was famous for his work with calculating machines. Babbage
became a mentor to Lovelace who was captivated by his innovative work. Soon,
Babbage would ask Lovelace to work with him on his newest invention called the
Analytical Engine, which was meant to perform mathematical calculations just
like a computer.
Lovelace’s Work:
Babbage asked
Lovelace to translate an article on the analytical machine written by Italian
engineer Luigi Federico Menabrea. While translating the text from French to
English, she also added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine. She
theorized that the machine could repeat a series of instruction, a process
known as “looping” that is still used today by computer programmers. She also created
codes so that the device could handle numbers, letters, and symbols. Due to
these findings and theories, Lovelace is often considered the first computer
programmer.
Lovelace’s
Legacy:
Ada Lovelace
envisioned a world where machines would be an integral part of human
imagination. At the time, these ideas where dismissed by the scientific
community because they were too difficult to comprehend. Just like many other
visionaries of her era, only time and knowledge could lead to the acceptance of
her work. In the 1970’s, engineers at the United States Department of Defense,
inspired by her work on the calculation of Bernoulli numbers, named a
computer programing language Ada in her honor. Today, Lovelace also serves as
an inspiration to many women in the STEM fields, who see her as a visionary who
lived before her time. They celebrate Ada Lovelace Day on the second Tuesday of October in her honor.
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